Tag Archives: chiva

The Chivas of Panama looked like these in the early 1950’s. It was a much less complicated time in Panama and the bus rides were more pleasant.

With my credits in hand my return ride to Colon made me feel victorious. From the bus, however, I again experienced how people lived in those days on the outskirts of both urban areas. The first couple of stops en route I saw people getting on and off the bus at one of those unscheduled stops that the vehicle was constantly forced to make. Riding the bus was even better than taxi transport as they would often leave you wherever you asked the driver to leave you. Continue reading →

Images: Top: Avenida Central around 1940 shows the route of the chivas that went into Santana and San Felipe.Bottom: even into the 1960’s the same chivas werebeing used in public transport.Images thanks to CZimages.com

“Juni, come here!” my mother said one day with a note of urgency. When I immediately responded she said, “I want you to go to the commissary for me.” The “for” is what triggered my incredulity as I could not believe that she was asking me to do this errand all by myself. During that time I had hardly left the confines of our neighborhood not even to go see my paternal grandmother or my mother’s aunt who both lived a little further up on our street. Going to the Silver commissary implied quite a distance clear out of our neighborhood into the area of Curundu. Continue reading →